Skip to content
LoginRegister
WhatToEat.Today
Recipes

All recipes

Vegetarian, or something you can't eat? Set your diet once and we'll hide recipes that don't fit.

355 recipes

Placek ze śliwkamiPlum and crumble yeast cake

When the węgierki plums ripen in late August, Polish grandmothers from Kraków to Gdańsk bake placek ze śliwkami on the big oven tray and cut it into squares for Sunday coffee or for the neighbours. Under a buttery kruszonka crumble the plums melt into jammy, sharp pools on a soft, slightly sweet yeast dough. It is best on the day, still faintly warm, with a mug of coffee or a dollop of whipped cream. Laying the plums skin side down is the classic mistake: the juice floods the dough and leaves it raw, so set them cut side up and close together. Chef's tip: toss the plum halves with a spoonful of semolina or breadcrumbs before arranging; it soaks up the juice and keeps the base light.

150 minPolishBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Gemüse-Kartoffel-Fleisch-Brei (vegetable, potato and beef mash)

In Germany the first proper lunch for a baby of about six months is the Gemüse-Kartoffel-Fleisch-Brei, a smooth purée of carrot or parsnip with potato and a little lean beef, finished with a spoonful of rapeseed oil. Many parents stir in a little unsweetened fruit juice or purée too, as vitamin C helps the body take up the iron from the meat. It tastes sweet and mild and is made with no salt. It contains none of the common allergens (milk, egg, gluten, peanut, tree nuts, soya, sesame, fish). Chef's tip: add the oil to each portion after reheating rather than before freezing, so it stays fresh-tasting.

40 minGermanMeatGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Russischer ZupfkuchenChocolate shortcrust cheesecake

Despite the name, Russischer Zupfkuchen is a West German invention, a 1990s café-counter hit that spread from a baking-powder company's recipe card into every coffee-and-cake afternoon from Hamburg to Munich. A crisp cocoa shortcrust holds a pale, creamy quark cheesecake, and torn pieces ('gezupft', plucked) of the same dark dough are scattered on top, where they bake into crunchy chocolate islands. Serve it cold, in tall wedges, with filter coffee. Cutting it warm is the common mistake: the filling slumps and the base cracks, so chill it for several hours first. Chef's tip: keep a third of the dough frozen for 15 minutes before tearing it; firm pieces hold their rough shape and don't sink into the filling.

105 minGermanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kisiel (Polish fruit jelly drink)

Kisiel is a Polish childhood staple served in school canteens and at home after school, warm in winter and chilled in summer, somewhere between a thick drink and a soft jelly. Home-made versions use fruit or juice thickened with potato starch, without the bright colours of packet mixes. This one uses mixed berries and only a little sugar. None of the common allergens are in it. Chef's tip: always mix the starch with cold water first and pour it into the boiling fruit while stirring; added dry, it forms lumps that never dissolve.

15 minPolishDessertsVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Fliegenpilz-Eier (toadstool eggs)

German children's birthday parties and Easter tables often feature a little forest of Fliegenpilz-Eier: hard-boiled eggs standing on cress, each wearing a red tomato cap dotted with mayonnaise like a fly agaric toadstool. Children love making them as much as eating them. They are meant for school-age children: for younger ones, cut the eggs and tomatoes into small pieces rather than serving them whole. Contains egg (also in the mayonnaise); free of gluten and milk. Chef's tip: slice a thin piece off the bottom of each egg so it stands steady.

25 minGermanSnacks & StartersGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Quarkbällchen (German quark doughnut balls)

Quarkbällchen fill the trays of German bakeries all year and reach their peak at Fasching, the carnival season, and families in Berlin, Saxony and beyond make them at home for children's afternoon Kaffee und Kuchen. The quark dough needs no yeast, so they are quick: crisp and golden outside, soft and cake-like inside, with a light tang. They are rolled in sugar rather than drenched. They contain milk, egg and gluten. Chef's tip: keep the oil at 170 °C so they cook through; hotter oil browns them before the centre is done.

40 minGermanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Fruit and cereal mash (Obst-Getreide-Brei)

German weaning follows a well-known plan: a vegetable lunch first, then a milk and cereal evening meal, and finally an afternoon Obst-Getreide-Brei, a dairy-free mash of cooked cereal flakes and fruit, usually from around seven months. Fine oat or millet flakes are simmered in water, then stirred into stewed apple or pear with a spoon of rapeseed oil, which German paediatric advice recommends for healthy fats. It is fruity, smooth and naturally sweet. It contains gluten if made with oats (use millet flakes for gluten free); there is no milk, egg, nuts, soya, sesame or fish. Chef's tip: stew the fruit in a little water rather than using juice, which adds sugar.

20 minGermanBreakfast & BrunchVegan
by KrazyBadal 0 views

German party pasta salad (Nudelsalat)

In Germany a big bowl of Nudelsalat is the backbone of a Kindergeburtstag, a summer barbecue or a school outing: short pasta, ham, peas, sweetcorn and chopped gherkins bound in a mayonnaise and yoghurt dressing, made the evening before so the flavours settle. This version lightens the dressing with yoghurt and gherkin brine. It contains gluten, egg (mayonnaise) and milk. Chef's tip: dress the pasta while it is still slightly warm, then add a splash more dressing just before serving, because the pasta drinks it overnight.

32 minGermanSalads
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cebularz lubelskiOnion and poppy seed flatbread

Lublin's bakers have topped flat rounds of yeast dough with onion and poppy seed since at least the nineteenth century, when the city's Jewish bakeries sold them as "cebulnik"; today cebularz lubelski is a protected regional speciality and a street snack sold warm from bakery windows across eastern Poland. The base is a soft, slightly sweet enriched dough, the centre thin and the rim puffed, and the onion bakes until tender, sweet and just catching at the edges. Eat one warm on its own, with a glass of kefir, or alongside a bowl of soup. Wet onion is the downfall here: salt it, wait, then squeeze out the juice, or the middle turns soggy. Chef's tip: press the centres really thin with your fingertips just before topping; if they puff back up, the onion slides off.

143 minPolishBreads & Parathas
by KrazyBadal 0 views

JagodziankiBlueberry crumble buns

When the forest blueberries (jagody) arrive in July, Polish bakeries start selling jagodzianki by the trayful, and queues form for them warm. Each oval bun is soft, buttery yeast dough wrapped around a juicy pocket of blueberries, topped with a crunchy butter crumble and sometimes a drizzle of icing. They are a summer treat for the beach, the train or an afternoon with coffee, and children eat them by the bagful, staining their fingers purple. Berries tossed in sugar alone burst through the seams; the potato starch thickens the juice so it stays inside. Chef's tip: pinch the seams very firmly and set the buns seam side down, then press the crumble on with your palm so it sticks to the egg wash.

145 minPolishBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

MohnkuchenPoppy seed crumble cake

Bavarian and Austrian bakeries, Saxon ones especially, cut Mohnkuchen from huge trays into thick, dark slabs that are eaten at the Sunday Kaffee und Kuchen table and at village fêtes. Under a sandy butter crumble sits a deep layer of ground poppy seeds cooked in milk with semolina and lemon, nutty and slightly bitter-sweet, on a thin shortcrust base. Some families add a splash of rum to the filling; it is written here without, and you can stir in 2 tablespoons with the lemon zest if you like. Whole seeds are the most common slip: they stay hard and gritty and never thicken the filling, so buy ready-ground poppy seed or grind it in a spice grinder. Chef's tip: let the filling cool before spreading it; hot filling melts the base and the cake splits from it when cut.

95 minGermanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

AmerikanerIced soft cakes

Amerikaner are a fixture of German bakery counters and children's birthday parties: soft, domed little cakes baked flat-side up, then turned over and iced on the smooth base, half in white lemon icing and half in chocolate. A pinch of custard powder in the dough gives their tender, slightly vanilla crumb. Children can ice them themselves at a party. They contain milk, egg and gluten. Chef's tip: ice the flat bottom of the cakes, not the domed tops; that's what gives the shiny, even finish.

35 minGermanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

GrünkernsuppeGreen spelt soup

Grünkern is spelt harvested half-ripe and dried over beech smoke, a trick farmers in the Bauland and Odenwald of northern Baden and Lower Franconia used when wet summers threatened the crop. Around Boxberg and Walldürn the cracked grains still go into a thick, nutty soup for autumn and winter weekday lunches, often followed by something sweet. The grains simmer with leek, carrot and celeriac until they burst and thicken the broth, and a spoon of cream and plenty of parsley go in at the end. Chef's tip: toast the cracked Grünkern in the butter until it smells like smoky popcorn before adding any liquid; skipping this leaves the soup flat and grey.

60 minGermanSoups
by KrazyBadal 0 views

PichelsteinerBeef, pork and vegetable stew

Every summer the town of Regen in the Bavarian Forest holds a Pichelsteiner festival in honour of this layered stew, said to have been first cooked on the Büchelstein hill in the 1800s. Cubes of beef and pork shoulder are stacked in a heavy pot with potatoes, carrots, celeriac, leek and cabbage, a little marrow-bone fat or butter goes between the layers, and the whole thing cooks gently without stirring. Each spoonful mixes tender meat with soft vegetables in a clear, peppery broth. Stirring early is the classic mistake: the potatoes turn to mush. Chef's tip: brown the meat well first and the broth turns a rich amber instead of pale grey.

130 minGermanSoupsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

SpargelcremesuppeCream of asparagus soup

During Spargelzeit, from April to 24 June, kitchens around Schwetzingen, Beelitz and Schrobenhausen fill with white asparagus, and nothing is wasted. The peelings and woody ends are simmered into a light stock, which becomes this velvety cream soup with a few tender tips floating on top, served as a starter before the big asparagus platter or as lunch on its own. Its flavour is delicate, slightly sweet and nutty. Using a strong stock cube is the mistake to avoid; it drowns the asparagus. Chef's tip: a pinch of sugar and a squeeze of lemon in the stock balance the faint bitterness of the peel.

55 minGermanSoups
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KartoffelauflaufPotato bake

Kartoffelauflauf is the bake German parents turn to on busy weekdays, from Hanover flats to farmhouses in the Allgäu: thin slices of potato layered in a dish, covered with a custard of eggs, milk and cream and topped with cheese, then baked until golden and set. It is often a complete meal with a green salad, though some add leeks or ham between the layers. The common mistake is cutting the potatoes too thick, so they are still hard when the top is brown. Chef's tip: use a mandoline or slice about 3 mm thick. Hard cheeses such as Emmental are traditionally made with animal rennet, so pick a vegetarian cheese.

80 minGermanVegetarianGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ErdbeerkuchenStrawberry flan

When strawberry stands pop up on every country road in June, bakeries from the Rhineland to Saxony fill their windows with Erdbeerkuchen, and families bake one for Sunday afternoon Kaffee und Kuchen. A light sponge is baked in a fluted flan tin with a raised rim, spread with a thin layer of custard or jam, covered with halved strawberries and set under a clear red glaze, then served with whipped cream. The mistake most people make is filling the base while it is still warm, which makes it soggy. Chef's tip: brush the cooled base with a little melted white chocolate or jam first; it seals the sponge against the fruit juice.

55 minGermanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

HühnerfrikasseeChicken fricassee

From Kiel to Konstanz, Hühnerfrikassee is the comforting weekday dish children in Germany ask for, a fixture of school canteens in the old East and of family kitchens everywhere else. Chicken is poached gently with soup vegetables, then the broth becomes a pale, creamy sauce with mushrooms, peas and pieces of asparagus, sharpened with lemon and capers if you like. It is always served over plain rice. The common mistake is boiling the chicken hard, which makes it dry and stringy. Chef's tip: finish the sauce with a little lemon juice off the heat; without it the frikassee tastes flat and heavy.

75 minGermanChicken
by KrazyBadal 0 views

GefilldeStuffed potato dumplings

Gefillde are the Saarland's festive Sunday dumplings, especially loved in the Bliesgau and around Homburg: a dough of raw and cooked potato wrapped around a filling of pork liver sausage and minced pork and beef, poached gently, then served with a creamy bacon sauce (Speckrahmsoße) and sauerkraut. They are rich and filling, a dish for cold weekends and family gatherings. The most common mistake is a filling that is too wet, which bursts through the dough while poaching. Chef's tip: chill the filling balls for 20 minutes before wrapping so they are firm and easy to seal.

120 minGermanMeat
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KräuterquarkHerb quark

On summer evenings across Germany, from Hamburg allotments to Swabian farmhouse kitchens, a bowl of herb quark sits in the middle of the Abendbrot table with rye bread, radishes and boiled new potatoes. Fresh low-fat quark is loosened with a little milk and linseed or sunflower oil, then packed with chopped chives, parsley and dill and a hint of garlic, so it tastes cool, tangy and green. It also goes on jacket potatoes at the fair and next to grilled vegetables at a barbecue. The usual mistake is chopping the herbs ahead and letting them sit, which turns them dark and bruised. Chef's tip: let the finished quark rest in the fridge for 20 minutes so the garlic mellows and the herbs flavour the whole bowl.

10 minGermanChutneys & DipsGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

StielmusTurnip greens mash

Stielmus, also called Rübstiel, is the young stalks and leaves of turnips, sold in bunches at markets in Cologne, Düsseldorf and the Münsterland only in spring and early autumn. Rhinelanders chop them and cook them with potatoes, then mash everything together with butter and nutmeg into a green, slightly peppery mash. It is traditionally eaten with bacon or sausage, but works as a vegetarian main with a fried egg. A common mistake is chopping the stalks too coarsely, which leaves stringy pieces. Chef's tip: if you cannot find Stielmus, a mix of turnip tops and chard gives a similar mild bitterness.

45 minGermanVegetarianGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

KartoffelkrokettenPotato croquettes

Kartoffelkroketten belong to the German Sunday roast as surely as red cabbage, alongside Rinderrouladen in the Ruhr or venison in the Harz at Christmas. Dry mashed potato is bound with egg yolk, nutmeg and a little butter, rolled into small cylinders, breaded and fried until crunchy outside and fluffy within. Homemade ones taste far better than the frozen kind and can be shaped a day ahead. The usual mistake is a wet mash, which makes croquettes burst in the oil. Chef's tip: steam-dry the boiled potatoes in the hot pan for two minutes and press them through a ricer, never a blender, which turns them gluey.

60 minGermanSides
by KrazyBadal 0 views

SchnittlauchbrotChive bread

Order a Schnittlauchbrot in a Munich beer garden and you get the simplest Brotzeit there is: a thick slice of sourdough rye, buttered right to the edges and buried under so many chopped chives that the bread disappears. A pinch of coarse salt on top is all it needs. Bavarians eat it with a radish or two in the afternoon, and at home it is a classic Abendbrot when the chives in the garden are growing fast in May and June. The mistake is using fridge-cold butter, which tears the bread and will not hold the chives. Chef's tip: press the bread butter-side down into a plate of chives instead of sprinkling, and every bit gets covered.

5 minGermanSnacks & Starters
by KrazyBadal 0 views

HochzeitssuppeWedding soup with meatballs

At weddings in Lower Saxony and Westphalia the meal begins with this soup, often served at village inns around Hanover and Münster long before the roast arrives. A clear beef broth carries three garnishes: tiny meatballs of beef and pork, cubes of Eierstich (a steamed egg custard) and pieces of asparagus or peas, so every spoonful has something different. It can be prepared in stages a day ahead, which is why it suits a crowd. A common mistake is boiling the meatballs hard, which clouds the broth. Chef's tip: poach the meatballs separately in salted water, then add them to the clear broth just before serving.

180 minGermanSoups
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Showing 24 of 355 recipes

Show more recipes

Page 1 of 15